Thomas MacMillan Photo
Mitt Romney.
Bedford, NH— When chanting protestors from Occupy New Hampshire crashed his rally here on Monday night, Mitt Romney was ready for them, with a counterpunch aimed also at President Obama.
The scene took place at an evening campaign rally at the McKelvie Intermediate School, where former Massachusetts Gov. Romney was introduced by New Hampshire U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
Republican presidential hopeful Romney is looking for a strong first-place finish on Tuesday in the nation’s first primary here in New Hampshire.
Halfway through the rally, members of the Occupy movement pulled out smuggled-in messages written on the inside of plastic Romney signs and began chanting, “Live free or die! Always Occupy!”
The protestors were quickly drowned out by Romney supporters chanting, “Mitt! Mitt! Mitt!” then ushered out by police and Romney staff. When a second group immediately erupted into chants, Romney chose to engage them.
“Instead of shouting, why don’t you say what you mean?” he said. He asked a woman (pictured) to explain her position. When she voiced a complaint about the power of money in politics, Romney was ready with a comeback.
“Who’s the president who is spending more money to campaign than any other in the history of America?” Romney said, drawing laughter and cheers from the audience.
As the woman was led out, Romney said President Obama is breaking all spending records on his campaign.
Later, as the rally wrapped up, someone near the stage tried to “Mic check” and start another chant: “Banks got bailed out! We got sold out!” but it quickly fizzled.
Romney signed autographs before leaving.
Previous primary coverage:
• Orthodoxy Broken; A Door Opens
• Occupiers Crash The Primary